The Compromise Strategy of Pope Francis Will Only Lead to More Religious Persecution

China and Cuba are the two high-profile countries where Pope Francis has tried to use his office to bring about agreements and decisions that seem more like items on his Legacy agenda than actual defenses of the Catholic Church he leads or of Christianity in general. The results of Pope Francis's forays into essentially political situations has been less than encouraging for the supporters of religious freesdom. • • • CUBA. The Christian Times reported on August 26, 2016, that the Communist regime of Cuba has intensified its anti-Christian crackdown by taking on more than a thousand churches among the more than a thousand documented violations of religious freedom. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) released its latest report on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) on August 16, revealing 1,606 violations in the first half of 2016, including harassment, arbitrary arrests, forced seizure of personal properties and confiscation of 1,400 Assemblies of God (AOG) churches. The government plans to demolish at least 100 of the AOG churches. Reverend Alain Toledano, pastor of the persecuted Emanuel Church, told CSW in December 2015 : "There is a witch hunt against churches in Cuba at this time, mainly against the churches of apostolic and prophetic ministry." The government's Planning and Housing Officials ruled November 27 to accept the eviction of the pastors and their families and the demolition of the five churches in Abel Santa Maria neighborhood in the southern city of Santiago de Cuba. Reverend Toledano said : "The Communists have intensified in their hatred and persecution of the church following the Pope's visit to Cuba and the re-establishment of relations with the United States. I request constant intercession on behalf of the churches in Cuba." CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas spoke out against the spike of religious violations but also said he's "humbled and inspired by the courage and perseverance" of the persecuted religious communities. He urged the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States to take a stand with the Cuban people for their rights, particularly on religious freedom. • The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reports that the Cuban Castro regime continues to enforce restrictive laws and harassment : "The government principally targets for arrest or harassment religious communities and leaders deemed too independent from government control or those who support democracy and human rights efforts." • Based on these concerns, the USCIRF 2016 Annual Report again placed Cuba on Tier 2 in 2016. Cuba has been on USCIRF’s Tier 2 since 2004. USCIRF says religious adherence continues to grow in Cuba, although there are no reliable statistics of Cubans’ religious affiliations. Between 60% and 70% of the population is estimated to be Roman Catholic and 5% Protestant. While the Cuban constitution guarantees freedom of religion or belief, this protection is limited by other constitutional and legal provisions. Article 8 affirms that “the State recognizes, respects, and guarantees religious freedom,” and article 55 guarantees the right to “...change religious beliefs or not have any, and to profess, within the confines of the law, the religious worship of his/her preference.” However, article 62 qualifies that all rights can be limited based on the “aims of the socialist State and the nation’s determination to build socialism and communism...” The Cuban Penal Code’s Abuse of Liberty of Worship clause permits the imprisonment of any person the government determines to be abusing constitutional religious freedom protections by placing religious beliefs in conflict with other state goals. • The Cuban government controls religious activities through the Office of Religious Affairs (ORA) of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and the Ministry of Justice. The government requires religious communities to register with the Ministry of Justice, including the disclosure of funding sources and locations for activities and certification that they are not duplicating the activities of other registered religious communities. The ORA has final authority over registration decisions. Currently, 54 religious communities are registered. Only registered religious communities are allowed to receive foreign visitors, import religious materials, meet in approved houses of worship, and apply to travel abroad for religious purposes. • The USCIRF report says that during the 2015-2016 period, the Cuban government increasingly targeted houses of worship with closure, confiscation, and destruction. Since 2005, authorities had rarely enforced the registration requirement for house churches and infrequently registered house churches that did submit applications. But, this changed in 2015. In the most egregious example, the government designated 2,000 Assemblies of God churches as illegal and ordered their closure, confiscation, or demolition, although these actions have not been taken. Also, Protestant Pastor Jesús Noel Carballeda was imprisoned from February to August 2015 without trial for “illegal religious activities” for leading an unregistered church. The government also used a new legal decree to expropriate church properties and require them to pay rent to the government. In January 2015, the Cuban government announced Legal Decree 322, the General Law on Housing to regulate private properties and zoning laws. However, Cuban authorities used Legal Decree 322 to expropriate 15 Methodist churches, as well as other churches of various denominations in the more politically-active eastern part of Cuba. • The Cuban government continued to harass the Apostolic Reformation and the Eastern and Western Baptist Conventions. These independent, vocal, and large religious communities resist government interference. The USCIRF report states that is in past reporting periods, : "the Apostolic Reformation has been targeted for government harassment including : short-term arrests of leaders; government-organized mob attacks; confiscations, destruction of, or threats to destroy church property; harassment and surveillance of church members and their relatives; fines on churches; and threats to leaders and members of loss of employment, housing, or educational opportunities. Of particular concern, says the USCIRF report, is the ongoing harassment of Apostolic Reformation Reverend Yiorvis Bravo Denis and government efforts to seize his family home and church, the latter serving as the religious community’s headquarters. Both the Eastern and the Western Baptist Conventions continued to report surveillance and harassment by state officials, including receiving death threats and being victims of “acts of repudiation” (demonstrations against them by government supporters). The two denominations also reported threats of church destruction or confiscation. During the reporting period, the Cuban government increasingly targeted houses of worship with closure, confiscation, and destruction." • The USCIRF says the Cuban government continued to deny democracy and human rights activists their constitutional rights to freedom of religion or belief. More than 100 separate incidents were reported in 2015 of Ladies in White members and other human rights and democracy activists being prevented from attending Sunday Masses. In the majority of cases, these individuals were detained on their way to Mass and released hours later. Individuals reported being beaten and harassed during their detentions. In a new development, they also reported being prevented from attending Bible study groups and prayer meetings. More than 150 democracy and human rights activists were detained during Pope Francis’ trip to Cuba in September, preventing them from attending the Pope’s Mass. Further, church leaders reported pressure from government officials to expel or shun such activists. Religious leaders who did not comply were threatened with church confiscation or destruction. • But, as in previous years, positive developments continue for the Catholic Church and other religious communities, such as the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian-Reformed Church. These religious denominations continued to report increased opportunities to repair houses of worship, receive exit visas, import religious materials, receive contributions from co-religionists outside Cuba, and conduct charitable, educational, and community service projects. • the USCIRF report noted that in December 2014, President Barack Obama announced a “New Course on Cuba,” starting a process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the countries and significantly lifting trade and travel restrictions. Since December 2014, the United States and Cuba re-established embassies in each other’s capitals. The United States also removed Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list; eased restrictions on authorized travel to Cuba; and increased remittance levels, the import of Cuban products, the export of US telecommunications equipment, and US-led training opportunities for and exportation and/or sale of goods and services to Cuban private businesses and farmers. US institutions were permitted to open banking accounts with Cuban financial institutions and [a reportedly very limited number of] US credit and debit cards were permitted to be used in Cuba. Also Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Cuba in July to re-open the US Embassy, becoming the first Secretary of State to travel to Cuba in 70 years. Then, President Obama traveled to Cuba March 21-22, the first sitting President to do so since 1928. But, [as with the Pope's visit to Cuba and his work to re-establish US-Cuban relations] the Cuban government continues to deny democracy and human rights activists their constitutional rights to freedom of religion or belief. • Therefore, the 2016 USCIRF report makes several recommendations. The US government should take significant action to convey that the change in policy does not diminish the Cuban government’s need to improve religious freedom conditions on the island. Specifically, the USCIRF report recommends that the US government should press the Cuban government to : "stop arrests and harassment of religious leaders; end the practice of preventing democracy and human rights activists from attending religious services; cease interference with religious activities and religious communities’ internal affairs; allow unregistered religious groups to operate freely and legally and revise government policies that restrict religious services in homes or other personal property; lift restrictions on the building or repairing of houses of worship, holding of religious processions, importation of religious materials, and admittance of religious leaders; and hold accountable police and other security personnel for actions that violate the human rights of religious practitioners." The USCIRF report also recommends that the US government : "encourage Cuban authorities to extend an official invitation for unrestricted visits by the US Ambassador–at-Large for International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; increase opportunities for Cuban religious leaders from both registered and unregistered religious communities to travel to, exchange aid and materials with, and interact with co-religionists in the United States; reinvigorate the US-Cuba human rights dialogue and include religious freedom in the discussions; use appropriated funds to advance Internet freedom and protect Cuban activists by supporting the development and accessibility of new technologies and programs to counter censorship and to facilitate the free flow of information in and out of Cuba; and encourage international partners, including key Latin American and European countries and regional blocs, to ensure that violations of freedom of religion or belief and related human rights are part of all formal and informal multilateral or bilateral discussions with Cuba." • That long list that speaks volumes about how little religious freedom there is in Cuba under the Castro regime. Instead of opening embassies and offering mutual congratulations about the "thaw" in US-Cuba relations, it would have served religious -- and political -- freedom for Cubans much better had Pope Francis and President Obama held Raul Castro's feet to the fire on religious and politiical liberties BEFORE opening the world's doors to the undemocratic, anti-religion tyranny that the Castro family and their supporters represent. It is particularly distressing that Pope Francis, the one recognized voice for Christinaity worldwide, has chosen to accept token relief for Catholic churches in Cuba, seemingly without speaking out for other Christian churches being persecuted by the Castro regime. • • • CHINA. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom 2016 Annual Report also addresses the issues related ot religious persecution in China. The report's Key Findings are : "China’s severe religious freedom violations continued in 2015. While the Chinese government sought to further assert itself on the global stage, at home it pursued policies to diminish the voices of individuals and organizations advocating for human rights and genuine rule of law. During the past year, as in recent years, the central and/or provincial governments continued to forcibly remove crosses and bulldoze churches; implement a discriminatory and at times violent crackdown on Uighur Moslems and Tibetan Buddhists and their rights; and harass, imprison, or otherwise detain Falun Gong practitioners, human rights defenders, and others. Based on the continuation of this long-standing trend of religious freedom violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2016 that China be designated a 'country of particular concern,' or CPC, for its systematic, egregious, and ongoing abuses. The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999, most recently in July 2014." • The USCIRF 2016 Report states that Chinese Protestants and Catholics were persecuted in the 2015-2016 period, citing many of the specific events reported in Tuesday's blog -- the Zhejiang Province draft regulations governing the color, size and location of religious signs, symbols, and structure, with the systematic efforts to forcibly remove church crosses in Zhejiang Province, an area with a high concentration of Christians; the “Three Rectifications and One Demolition” campaign used by Chinese authorities to target houses of worship, particularly churches, as illegal structures, even including government-approved churches; the continued summoning, questioning, detention, and even arrest of clergy and parishioners of unregistered house churches, such as at Huoshi Church in Guizhou Province. • Particularly horrific episodes reported by the USCIRF told of local officials, who in January 2015, informed the family of imprisoned Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang that he had died. At the time of his reported death, the underground bishop had been imprisoned, without charges, for 14 years at a secret location, in addition to previous imprisonments and hard labor. In another episode, in March, a court sentenced Pastor Huang Yizi to one year in prison for trying to protect the cross at Salvation Church in Zhejiang Province from removal. Additionally, as noted in Tuesday's blog, the USCIRF reports that human rights lawyers often are targeted for assisting religious followers. For example, prior to a meeting with US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein in August 2015, Chinese authorities seized human rights lawyer Zhang Kai. Zhang is known for his work on behalf of those affected by church demolitions and cross removals in Zhejiang Province and previously represented Pastor Huang. The USCIRF report says : "Following six months of being held without charge -- likely at one of China’s notorious 'black jail' facilities known for their use of torture -- Zhang Kai was criminally detained in February 2016." • • • TIBET. Another longstanding religious persecution of China is directed at Tibetan Buddhists. The 2016 USCIRF report states that in 2015, the Chinese government maintained tight control of Tibetan Buddhists, strictly monitoring and suppressing their cultural and religious practices. Government-led raids on monasteries continued, and Chinese party officials in Tibet infiltrated monasteries with Communist Party propaganda. The USCIRF report indicated increased government interference in the education and training of young Buddhist monks : "In protest of these and other repressive policies, at least 143 Tibetans have self-immolated since February 2009. Buddhist leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who had been serving a 20-year sentence, died in prison in July 2015. Supporters of the popular monk maintained he was falsely accused of separatism and terrorism, and there were reports that police opened fire on a group of supporters who had gathered in his memory. Chinese authorities cremated Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s body against his family’s wishes and Buddhist practice, leading many to suspect foul play in his death. Also, authorities subsequently detained his sister and niece for nearly two weeks after they requested his body be turned over to them." The past year was marked by several notable anniversaries : the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama, the 50th anniversary of Beijing’s control over the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, also known as the Panchen Lama. Abducted at the age of six, the Panchen Lama has been held in secret by the Chinese government for more than two decades. Also in 2015, the government accused the Dalai Lama of “blasphemy” for suggesting he would not select a successor or reincarnate, effectively ending the line of succession. Beijing also reiterated its own authority to select the next Dalai Lama. • • • DESPITE ALL, POPE FRANCIS CONTINUES TO NEGOTIATE WITH CHINA. The 2016 USCIRF report states that the Vatican and China continued their ongoing formal dialogue, including a Vatican delegation’s visit to China in October 2015 : "During the year, the Vatican reportedly suggested a compromise regarding the selection and approval of bishops in China, though the government of China has not agreed. While positive developments transpired -- Bishop Wu Qin-jing was installed, Bishop Zhang Yinlin was ordained, and the Vatican approved Bishop-designee Tang Yuange -- China still insists it has the authority to appoint bishops independent of the Holy See. • For these reasons, the USCIRF 2016 report makes the following recommendations : "China’s approach to religious freedom and related human rights does not comply with international standards. At the same time, China increasingly flouts these standards as it grows more assertive on the global stage and seeks to assume the mantle of world leadership. To reinforce to China that such leadership must go hand-in-hand with the respect for and protection of religious freedom and related human rights, the US government consistently should integrate human rights messaging -- and specifically religious freedom -- throughout its interactions with China." In addition to recommending the US government continue to designate China as a CPC, USCIRF recommends the US government should : "continue to raise consistently religious freedom concerns at the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and other high-level bilateral meetings with Chinese leaders, and encourage Chinese authorities to refrain from conflating peaceful religious activity with terrorism or threats to state security; urge the Chinese government to release prisoners of conscience who have been detained, sentenced, or placed under house arrest for the peaceful exercise of their faith, and continue to raise individual prisoner cases; initiate a “whole-of-government” approach to human rights diplomacy with China in which the State Department and National Security Council staff develop a human rights action plan for implementation across all US government agencies and entities, including developing targeted talking points and prisoner lists, and providing support for all US delegations visiting China; increase staff attention to US human rights diplomacy and the rule of law, including the promotion of religious freedom, at the US Embassy in Beijing and US consulates in China, including by gathering the names of specific officials and state agencies who perpetrate religious freedom abuses; convey more directly US concerns about severe religious freedom violations in China, impose targeted travel bans, asset freezes, and other penalties on specific officials who perpetrate religious freedom abuses, as permitted by IRFA; press China to uphold its international obligations to protect North Korean asylum seekers crossing its borders, including by allowing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and international humanitarian organizations to assist them and by ending repatriations, which are in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Protocol and/or the Convention Against Torture; and encourage the Broadcasting Board of Governors to use appropriated funds to advance Internet freedom and protect Chinese activists by supporting the development and accessibility of new technologies and programs to counter censorship." • • • CHINA CONTINUES SYSTEMATIC RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. China's persecution and denial of freedom for its citizens who hold religious beliefs is an unremitting tale of torture, imprisonment, confiscation of property, and persecution of priests, pastors, and lay practitioners and their families. Again, instead of the Pope talking about a deal to allow the Catholic Church to do business in China, or President Obama working with China as though it were a 'normal' nation that respects human rights and liberties, both Pope Frnacis and Barack Obama should be leading the world's efforts to bring China into conformity with civilized standards of conduct for governments and their officials. • • • Dear readers, Cardinal Zen has the right line of analysis. Pope Francis is used to dealing with an entirely different kind of persecution. Francis grew up in South American when ultra-"conservative" juntas and strongmen ruled by using the military and gulag tactics to control their opponents. It permeated society. Everyone compromised to some extent or died. Francis obviously compromised, although his biographers and friends say he helped to save priests and lay people who had crossed over the line into political opposition to the Argentine junta, while trying to work with the junta to preserve some freedom of action for the Catholic Church. Did Francis so thoroughly absorb the idea that compromise is the only way to survive that it now permeates his relationship with China and Cuba? This will one day be fully addressed, but for now, the personal history of Pope Francis hasn't even begun to be explored. • In any case, the Pope clearly thinks that compromise and "living" with his enemies -- i.e., the Church's enemies -- is the right approach. It is not, and many people know that. But, perhaps Francis, because of his childhood and Church leadership under the Argentine junta, doesn't know that. The evidence points to a continuation of compromise by Pope Francis with the Church's and Christianity's natural enemies. That will undoubtedly cause suffering for the Church. But, while Francis's faith is not questionable, his worldview challenges us to stand firm as Christians in the face of his strategy. The novel "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene is for me the best explanation of the failure of South American Catholicism ever written. It is perhaps outdated now in some social respects but the analysis and descriptions nail the Chruch's theological attempt to blend socialism, communism and Catholicism. It didn't work then and it won't work for Francis. It led and will now lead to the corruption and degradation of a generation of Catholic priests and laity, perhaps now in the wider world because of the papacy of Francis. • Cardinal Zen says : “You cannot go into negotiations with the mentality ‘we want to sign an agreement at any cost,’ then you are surrendering yourself, you are betraying yourself, you are betraying Jesus Christ. If you cannot get a good deal, an acceptable deal, then the Vatican should walk away and maybe try again later. Could the Church negotiate with Hitler? Could it negotiate with Stalin? No.” • And, we Christians who are old enough to remember, recall that József Mindszenty (1892 - 1975) said "No" to both Hitler and Stalin's Soviet Communism. Mindszenty was the Prince Primate, Archbishop of Esztergom, Cardinal, and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 2 October 1945 to 18 December 1973. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, for five decades "he personified uncompromising opposition to fascism and communism in Hungary." During World War II, he was imprisoned by the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party. After the war, he opposed Communism and the Communist persecution in his country. As a result, he was tortured and given a life sentence in a 1949 show trial that generated worldwide condemnation, including a United Nations resolution. After eight years in prison, he was freed in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and granted political asylum by the United States Embassy in Budapest, where Cardinal Mindszenty lived for the next fifteen years. He was finally allowed to leave Hungary in 1971. He died in exile in 1975 in Vienna, Austria. That is Christian leadership of the highest order.